First Impressions: Frosh complete first day

Buck Sanders

Are the Tar Heel freshmen better than advertised?

Untitled Document
The first two-a-day practice for UNC freshmen is in the books. What follows is
a set of first impressions, qualified by several important caveats. The freshmen
practiced almost exclusively on artificial turf. Total practice time, including
breaks, totaled only two and one-half hours. The freshmen did not practice in
full pads, against upperclassmen, or conduct anything resembling a scrimmage.
It might be safer to avoid drawing conclusions based on such scanty evidence,
but here are our first impressions of the newcomers to the UNC football team.

On football signing day, the biggest news for UNC football was who didn't
sign with the Tar Heels, not who did. Several highly-touted high school players
either reneged on their verbal commitments, or left UNC as a bridesmaid to
their first choice. In retrospect, this was unfair to this class, and early
indications are that they may look better on the field than they did on paper.

Coach Bunting has indicated that five to seven true freshmen may contribute
on the field this year. This range of true freshman contributors is fairly
typical over the past several years.

The newcomer that was perhaps the most impressive was running back transfer
Rikki Cook. Cook, a transfer, was older than the group he practiced with today
and running backs are notoriously difficult to evaluate outside of full scrimmages.
That being said, Cook looks as if he could play tail back or full back, has
great hands catching the ball out the backfield, has quick feet, and unless
we miss our guess the staff will find a place for him to play - next year.
As a transfer, he will have to sit out the upcoming season, a fact much lamented
by head coach John Bunting.

Defensive tackles Kendall High and Mickey Rice both appear to have tremendous
upside potential, particularly the rangy and agile High. Still, given the
current depth at defensive tackle, we expect both of these players to red-shirt.

The defensive end group also has a great upside, and one or more of this
group may see the field this season. Lewis Burham, who also played tight end
in high school, is currently slotted at defensive end. Both Bryan Rackley
and Alden Blizzard displayed good potential, with the less heralded Blizzard
holding his own at this spot

Only two members of the freshman class are currently slotted at linebacker,
Victor Worsley and Xavier Rainey (pictured at top), but either one or both may see the field
this season. Worsley was fairly solid all day, but Coach Dave Huxtable described
Rainey as a "fish out of water" as he began the morning session.
Rainey played defensive end in high school, so he is learning a new position
as well as adjusting to a higher level of competition. As the morning session
wore on, Rainey came on and made some impressive plays. In the afternoon session,
he seemed to pick up where he left off, intercepting a pass in the afternoon
session. Rainey appears to be a quick study.

Tommy Richardson will play this season, and will stick at the safety position
at least for the coming season, according to defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable.
Richardson may see his most minutes on special teams, but will likely get
some snaps at safety as well.

The cornerbacks, Cedric Holt and Jacoby Watkins may be the most underrated
part of the class. Both appear to have great speed and good instincts for
this critical position. Given the depth at corner for this season, both will
likely red-shirt but both showed promise for the future.

The young offensive linemen will likely all redshirt. Though they also showed
good upside potential, this class (Whit Efird, Kyle Ralph, and Chris Woods)
will all benefit from a redshirt year as is typical for offensive linemen.

One or two of the true frosh wide receivers will see significant playing
time this season. The player most likely to get on the field is Derrele Mitchell,
who at 6-4, 190 is a tall, rangy target and appears to be slightly ahead of
the rest of the receivers at this point. Ian Firestone (don't think we saw
him drop anything all day), Michael Gilmore, and Duante Fields all have a
shot at playing time this year, though likely no more than two will actually
forego a redshirt year.

The running backs all appear to be good athletes with potential to excel
at the college level, including Mahlon Carey and D.J. Walker. As already noted,
however, Rikki Cook stood out among the backs. He was a "Top 100"
player coming out of high school, and in this limited opportunity to observe
his skills he seemed worthy of that ranking. Given the current depth chart,
we would be surprised to see any of the running backs contribute this season.

This group of "invited" walk-ons in this class appears to us to
be one the strongest we have seen. There are several players in this group
that have a good chance of being solid contributors to UNC football down the
road. Justin Phillips (TE), Drayton Henderson (RB), Kevin Watson (WR). John
Deshields (DB) and Wallace Wright (WR) are a few names to salt away for the
future. Though slotted at TE, Phillips handled quarterback chores today (played
that position at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, played last year at Fork
Union) and also punted the ball - and hit some boomers.

On balance, it appears to have been a disservice to this incoming class to
have focused on the players who did not join it. There appear to be several
players who will have an impact this season, and many more who have an excellent
future before them.

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